HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer
Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery
29 August – 5 December 2020
HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer is an exhibition of new commissions, bringing together eight multidisciplinary artists who draw on histories and their own lived experiences to reflect on what it means to be queer. The artists in this exhibition explore a wide range of themes and issues from notions of family and community, local queer history, and transgender and non-binary lived experiences. Through intergenerational dialogues these artists dismantle dominant heteronormative narratives and highlight the continued resistance of queer culture.
HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer is also informed by Queer in the West an exhibition that was hosted by the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) in 1996. The exhibition critiqued the draconian Law Reform (Decriminalization of Sodomy) Act 1989, that prohibited the “encouragement or promotion of homosexual behaviour”, making it illegal to display artworks with a queer sensibility in public spaces. Since the amendment of this law there have been very few exhibitions in major galleries in that explicitly feature the work of queer artists. HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer is the first exhibition in over twenty years to exclusively feature the work of local queer artists at a Western Austalian institution.
The exhibition features work by artists Benjamin Bannan, Nathan Beard, Janet Carter, Lill Colgan, Jo Darbyshire, Brontë Jones, Andrew Nicholls and Colin Smith.
Gatefold
Exhibition Catalogue
Installation view of HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer.
Installation view of HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer.
Andrew Nicholls, The Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140 cm each.
Installation view of HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer.
Installation view of HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting, 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Janet Carter, Drawn From Life (detail), 2020, visual diaries, pen, pencil and charcoal on paper, single channel video, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (installation view), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge and two-channel video, dimensions variable.
Benjamin Bannan, Salvation Rainbow, 2020, etched aluminium and two-pack enamel, 320 x 180 x 5 cm.
Benjamin Bannan, Salvation Rainbow (detail), 2020, etched aluminium and two-pack enamel, 320 x 180 x 5 cm.
Benjamin Bannan, Salvation Rainbow (detail), 2020, etched aluminium and two-pack enamel, 320 x 180 x 5 cm.
Benjamin Bannan, Salvation Rainbow (detail), 2020, etched aluminium and two-pack enamel, 320 x 180 x 5 cm.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (i), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (i) (detail), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (i) (detail), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (ii), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (ii) (detail), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Nathan Beard, Limp-wristed Gesture (ii) (detail), 2020, silicone, found objects, acrylic nails, Swarovski Elements, cotton, wax, Fenty Beauty, Tom Ford Beauty, nail polish, painted steel, dimensions variable.
Andrew Nicholls, The Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140cm each.
Andrew Nicholls, Spring, 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140cm. Photo: Taryn Hays.
Andrew Nicholls, Summer, 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140cm. Photo: Taryn Hays.
Andrew Nicholls, Autumn, 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140cm. Photo: Taryn Hays.
Andrew Nicholls, Winter, 2019-2020, archival ink pen on watercolour paper, 114 x 140cm. Photo: Taryn Hays.
Lill Colgan, Soothing Systems, 2020, Morrison silk-crepe blouse, retail security tag ink, copper wire, pins, dimensions variable.
Lill Colgan, Soothing Systems (detail), 2020, Morrison silk-crepe blouse, retail security tag ink, copper wire, pins, dimensions variable.
Lill Colgan, Soothing Systems (detail), 2020, Morrison silk-crepe blouse, retail security tag ink, copper wire, pins, dimensions variable.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder, 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder (detail), 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder (detail), 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
From L-R:
Grace Crowley, Standing nude, n.d., pencil, 34.4 x 27 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1982. © Grace Crowley Estate.
Bessie Gibson, Portrait Of Mme May, 1938, Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 53 cm, Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, CCWA 189.
© Elizabeth Dickson Gibson/Copyright Agency, 2020.
Attributed to Margaret Preston, (exhibited as Self Portrait), 1940, oil on cardboard, 40.4 x 29.8 cm, Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, CCWA 167, © Margaret Preston/Copyright Agency, 2020.
Bessie Davidson, Guethary ll, c. 1940, oil on plywood, 47.7 x 48 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1982. © Art Gallery of South Australia.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder (detail), 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
From L-R:
Bessie Davidson, Guethary ll, c. 1940, oil on plywood, 47.7 x 48 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1982. © Art Gallery of South Australia.
Reproduction of Janet Cumbrae-Stewart, View from a window, London, 1926, pastel, 46 x 38 cm, Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, CCWA 914. © Estate of Janet Cumbrae Stewart.
Roy de Maistre, Studio still-life, c. 1968, coloured chalks and oil on black paper, 31 x 23 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1981. © Roy de Maistre Estate.
William Dobell, Fisherman, n.d., gouache, 8 x 11.7 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1974. © Courtesy Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder (detail), 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
From L-R:
Jeffrey Smart, Ponte Testaccio, 1970, oil on linen, 58.3 x 90.3 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, University Senate Grant, 1977. © The University of Western Australia.
Justin O’Brien, Figures in a landscape, 1976, oil on linen canvas, 45.8 x 33.5 cm, The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Dr Albert Gild Fund, 1977. © The Estate of Justin O'Brien.
James Gleeson, Madonna and child, 1939, oil on canvas on composition board, 50.5 x 36.5 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Gift of Sir James and Lady Cruthers, 2004. © Gleeson/O’Keefe Foundation.
Jo Darbyshire, Downunder (detail), 2020, 13 artworks and vinyl, dimensions variable.
From L-R:
Justin O’Brien, Figures in a landscape, 1976, oil on linen canvas, 45.8 x 33.5 cm, The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Dr Albert Gild Fund, 1977. © The Estate of Justin O'Brien.
James Gleeson, Madonna and child, 1939, oil on canvas on composition board, 50.5 x 36.5 cm. The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Gift of Sir James and Lady Cruthers, 2004. © Gleeson/O’Keefe Foundation.
Sidney Nolan, [Portrait of Randolph Stow], c. 1962-63, watercolour, 14.0 x 9.0 cm, The University of Western Australia Art Collection, Gift of Mrs Helen McArthur, 2011. © The Sidney Nolan Trust.
Alan Oldfield, Boxes, 1976, synthetic polymer paint on canvas, 121.8 x 122 cm, The University of Western Australia, Dr Albert Gild Fund, 1977. © The University of Western Australia.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting, 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting (detail), 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting (detail), 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting (detail), 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting (detail), 2020, painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Colin Smith, Bloodletting, 2020 (detail), painted false walls (MDF, timber), oil paintings (oil on ply board), air-dry clay, enamel paint, gold foil alphabet stickers, gold foil contact sheeting, hip chair, muslin, metal curtain rods, fake tree, chairs, water cooling dispenser, clock, scrap paper bin, dimensions variable.
Janet Carter, Drawn From Life (detail), 2020, visual diaries, pen, pencil and charcoal on paper, single channel video, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (installation view), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge and two-channel video, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (Part 2), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (Part 2), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (Part 2), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge, dimensions variable.
Brontë Jones, Wet Ride Scrub Daddy (Part 2), 2020, D-locks, Wet Ride bike lubricant, carabiners, Scrub Daddy sponge, dimensions variable.
Photos by Bo Wong unless otherwise stated.
HERE&NOW20: Perfectly Queer has been supported by the State Government of Western Australia through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
